Category Archives: Tax Law

Geoffrey Cone is a global attorney who works with people who are planning to move to different countries. He does this by accepting them as clients, learning what they need from the country, finding somewhere that works for them and helping them through every step of the moving process.

Most of the clients that Geoff Cone takes on are looking to move internationally. When they say that they want to move, they often want to find somewhere that does not have a high tax rates. One of the first places that they consider is New Zealand. They think that the country does not have high taxes and that they will be able to get a break when they make the decision to live there.

The attorney Geoff Cone also finds out what they need on an individual level. While they are probably looking for somewhere that is low-tax or tax-free, he also wants to make sure that he is able to find them a country that suits other needs that they have. This allows him the chance to learn more about the people who are making the move and what they will be able to do once they have moved. The family situation will also determine the different needs that they have when they decide to move to a different country.

Although Geoffrey Cone is not a real estate expert, he is able to find which countries work best for different people. This has allowed him a chance to make sure that he is doing different things right and that he is able to find a home that is perfect for people who want to move to a different country. He starts by finding all of the tax-free countries that he can and working off of that list so that people will be able to get what they need from the different things that are offered in each of the countries that they could be able to move to.

There are often many steps when it comes to making an international move. Geoff Cone specializes in these and he knows the right steps to take. He will give each of his clients a detailed plan on what they can do when they are deciding to move and this gives him the opportunity to see that things will be different for people. He also has outlines that include checklists and information for people to follow when they are moving internationally.

Geoff Cone is a renowned New Zealand’s lawyer specializing in Tax planning and international Trust. He graduated from the University of Otago in New Zealand with LLB Honors plus a post-graduate diploma in Tax and Trust Law. He began his Law practice in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1980 before moving to Christchurch where he worked as a partner and Chairman in a leading law firm. Cone was in charge of commercial litigation and tax and trust advisory. He was also the lead counsel in several cases and appeared in all levels of court proceedings.

Cone had a short stint abroad working as a litigator in Britain and West Indies for two years before returning to Auckland in 1997. He would later establish his own firm Cone Marshall Limited in 1999. Cone Marshall specializes in Tax Planning and International Trust as an exclusive legal service. It provides trust trustee management services through the affiliate companies.

Lawyer Geoffrey Cone Reacts to a Feature on Foreign Trusts

Lawyer Cone insists that New Zealand is not a tax haven. The OECD maintains a list of tax havens across the globe and New Zealand has never featured, and will most likely not feature in it. Some of the important features of tax havens are that there is a lack of transparency, set up laws that sabotage sharing of information with other nations, and that they impose minimal or zero taxes. New Zealand does not qualify on such grounds nor does it house a very secretive banking industry.

The 2002 OECD Model Agreement set up the internationally agreed tax standards on exchange of information relating to tax and domestic tax laws.

Foreign Trusts Management

One way through which New Zealand has shown leadership in tax transparency is with regards to how it manages foreign trusts and the requirements put on trustees. All those are geared towards enabling other governments to access the relevant information as requested from time to time. The new rules in Foreign Trusts were formulated by Michael Cullen in the year 2006 after extensive consultation with other stakeholders. Under this rigorous regime, the IRD requires a New Zealand resident trustee for foreign trust to fill up a Foreign Trust Disclosure form (IR607). Other records including the financial reports are kept for tax purposes in New Zealand.

The records include details of distributions and settlements (including name, address, and receipts), the trust deed, details of assets and liabilities of the trust, money received and spent by the trustee. If the trustee engages in business, they must keep the information on accounting systems, codes of account and charts.

All records must be recorded in English and kept in New Zealand failure to which, the trustee will attract punitive penalties. The powers were enhanced in 2011 when the world standard money laundering legislation was enacted.